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Justin Carter's NASCAR Cup Series DFS lineup picks for DraftKings, FanDuel for the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Read our fantasy NASCAR picks.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol on Sunday for a race on the dirt track. And after some weird qualifying races led to J.J. Yeley earning the third spot on today's grid, we're in for a pretty wild one on Sunday night. It's Easter racing on the dirt, y'all!
Last week, Kyle Larson led 93 of 400 laps on his way to a win at Richmond, while Josh Berry posted a career-best second-place finish. Martin Truex Jr. looked competitive, but some issues with the age of his tires on the final restart led to Truex fading back to 11th.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the Food City Dirt Race on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 4/9/23 at 7:00 p.m. ET. If you have any questions or want to talk about NASCAR, you can find me on Twitter at @juscarts.
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Kyle Larson
Starts 1st - DK: $10,900, FD: $14,000
Whoever leads the first lap has a good shot to run away with this. Last year, for instance, Chase Briscoe started on the second row, but was able to get out front on the first lap, and he then led the first 48 laps before Kyle Larson took the lead.
This year, polesitter Kyle Larson—one of the best dirt track racers in the world—is my pick to get out front early and dominate. We saw yesterday in the Truck Series race that clean air matters a lot here, as Joey Logano led the final 99 laps. The math here is pretty simple: if Larson gets a good start, the sky's the limit for laps led.
Joey Logano
Starts 12th - DK: $9,800, FD: $12,000
Speaking of yesterday's Truck Series race, Joey Logano—driving a ThorSport truck—was dominant, leading 138 of the 150 laps on his way to the victory. He's also won here in Cup, and last year he finished third.
Logano isn't a name you think of when you think about the top dirt guys in NASCAR, but his resume at Bristol Dirt continues to grow. While Larson should dominate early, Logano will have a chance as the race goes on. I'd probably call him my No. 2 pick this week when it comes to betting the race win. Just has to keep it clean.
Denny Hamlin
Starts 30th - DK: $9,100, FD: $9,500
With Larson and Logano anchoring your lineup, you've got your two dominator options locked in. Now, it's time to build a lineup with some place differential upside. This is a race where that'll likely be the path to a DFS win: last year, for example, we saw seven drivers get a DNF, and the caution flag flew 14 times, with just two of those coming via stage breaks.
Hamlin starts 30th this week. He's had two very different results in the first two races here, starting second and finishing third in 2021, then starting 34th and finishing 35th last year after his engine let go.
Provided he keeps the car clean, there's a chance for 20-plus place differential points from this 11 car.
Also just in general, there are some good place differential opportunities for three of the four JGR cars. Probably want one of them in most lineups.
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Brad Keselowski
Starts 33rd - DK: $7,600, FD: $8,000
Here's another strong place differential play. Brad K ran well here last year, finishing 11th, the same place he finished in 2o21. I don't necessarily think he makes it a three-peat of 11th-place finishes since he starts all the way back in 33rd, but he's a clear top-20 option this week, so the place differential upside available here makes him appealing this weekend. I expect Keselowski to run a smart, steady race.
Justin Haley
Starts 25th - DK: $6,900, FD: $5,000
First, I wish Haley's teammate this week, Jonathan Davenport, wasn't starting 21st. That's too high to play him since he lacks Cup experience, but he's someone I do want to keep an eye on on Sunday night.
As for Haley, he rolls off the grid in 25th. He ran well here last year, starting sixth and finishing 14th, and he was top 10 in both of his Truck Series starts at Eldora, though the last time he ran there was in 2018. Kaulig's Cup team has struggled to find speed, but Haley has the talent to gain 10-ish spots during Sunday's race.
Corey Lajoie
Starts 35th - DK: $5,000, FD: $4,000
Lajoie is in the midst of his best Cup Series season. Through seven races, he has an average finish of 16.0. Before this year, his best average finish was last season's 24.3.
Last year, Lajoie started 26th here and finished 19th. It was a solid run for Lajoie, and the fact that this year's car seems to have significantly more speed just makes Lajoie even more appealing. I'm not expecting a ton out of him today, but a top 25 finish at this price would be a nice positive, and if things get extra chaotic, he could end up doing even better than that.
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